Cable companies must share the love, no exclusive apartment rights

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A federal court of appeals ruled today that cable companies cannot have exclusive rights to deliver cable or Internet service to members of an apartment community, or in buildings that they, themselves, have specifically wired.

The ruling upheld a previous FCC ruling which banned the exclusive agreements, deeming them anti-competive and harmful to consumers.

As a result, cable operators can no longer enter into any exclusivity deals, and existing ones are no longer valid and cannot be enforced.

Such deals relate to the general concept of a cable provider paying up-front to wire a multi-unit dwelling or building in exchange for exclusive rights to provide service to that building’s occupants.

Competition is what’s needed to keep innovation moving, price competitiveness, and good value and service to consumers. These exclusivity agreements, and other related business practices, only harm consumers in the long run. People need to have the opportunity to put their wares out in front of consumers, and let the consumers decide for themselves. That goes for things physically built, services provided, and everything in-between.